As Seen in House & Garden Magazine: Inside a Vibrant, Harmonious Bristol Vicarage

We are absolutely thrilled to share that Emily’s House jute rugs have been featured in the May 2026 issue of House & Garden magazine.

The feature takes us inside a magnificent former vicarage and nursery school in Bristol, beautifully reimagined as a joyful, energetic family home. Written by Olivia Lidbury with stunning photography by Dave Watts, the article showcases how designer Rebecca Wakefield transformed a building with an unusual history into a deeply considered and coherent space for a family returning to the UK after a decade in Asia.

Balancing Bold Colour with Natural Texture

Renovating a property that spent thirty years as a nursery school comes with unique challenges. The interiors required a complete layout overhaul while preserving the exceptional historic craftsmanship, from original fireplaces to ornate plasterwork ceilings.

Designer Rebecca Wakefield masterfully balanced the architectural history with a playful, confident use of colour. With prominent spaces featuring striking shades like Farrow & Ball’s fiery Charlotte’s Locks and Paint & Paper Library’s Hornblende, the home needed grounding elements to keep the spaces feeling sophisticated and calm.

That is exactly where our handwoven jute rugs came into play.

Bold Paint & Architecture	Emily’s House Jute Rug
Farrow & Ball ‘Charlotte’s Locks’	Natural Blonde Tones
Intricate Mansion-Weave Parquet	Chunky Braided Texture
Heavily Embellished Plasterwork	Grounding Geometric Profiles

Grounding the Living Spaces

Throughout the downstairs rip-out, the original floors could not be salvaged, leading Rebecca to introduce beautiful double wenge herringbone and complex mansion-weave parquet flooring. To soften these rich, detailed timbers and balance the elaborate ceilings, our thick braided jute rugs were introduced as the ultimate foundational layer.

In high-traffic family zones, our natural jute fibres provide several key benefits:

• Visual Weight: The chunky, artisanal weave anchors substantial furniture arrangements, defining specific seating and dining zones within characterful rooms.
• Tactile Warmth: The organic, golden-blonde tones of raw jute soften the transition between vibrant wall colours and dark wood floors.
• Acoustic Softening: In a bustling home with three children, the dense, hand-knotted construction naturally dampens sound across open-plan layouts.

“The aim was to mirror the elaborate detailing within the ceilings and windows and this pattern seemed to really balance that out,” explains interior designer Rebecca Wakefield.

Framing the Light

One of our favourite moments from the shoot is the sun-drenched reading nook, set in the deep bay window where the vicar once penned his sermons. Flanked by built-in bookcases, the space pairs bright, unexpected colour with the raw, understated luxury of natural fibre underfoot. It proves that historic properties do not have to feel dark or museum-like; they can be bright, heavily styled, and completely practical for modern family living.

Bring the House & Garden Look Home

If you are inspired by Rebecca Wakefield’s brilliant mix of premium pieces, vintage finds, and rich textures, you can recreate the look in your own home.

When styling rooms with a confident colour palette, look to our collection of sustainable, 100% biodegradable jute rugs to provide that essential element of calm. For grand sitting rooms and expansive dining spaces, our larger profiles, such as the Square Jute Rug (280 x 280cm) or the Semi-Thick Braided Jute Rug (250 x 350cm), offer the perfect scale to tie a room together beautifully.

Photography by Dave Watts

Blog by Katrien Vermeeren